Pool and weir fishway

Pool and weir fishway

• Overview
• Links and references

Other name/s

Fish ladder

Description

The first type of fishway developed in Queensland was the pool and weir fishway consisting of a series of interconnected pools separated by low weirs. These fishways originated in the Northern Hemisphere where they were largely designed to facilitate the migration of Atlantic salmon. Historically there were two types of pool and weir fishways:

• the submerged orifice design favouring bottom dwelling fish
• the weir type favouring jumping species such as salmon.

Many pool and weir fishways constructed in Australia failed as they were not capable of maintaining designed water velocities because of fluctuating headwater and tailwater levels. Some were built on steep slopes, creating such excessive water velocities and turbulence that not even salmon could have ascended[3].

There are several examples of the traditional pool and weir fishway in Queensland, which are in various states of disrepair as none have successfully provided fish passage for native species.

More recent variations on the pool and weir design such as the vertical slot and trapezoidal fishways have proven successful in Australia[3][1][2] and are discussed separately.

Further details are not provided for this type as it is ineffective is Queensland.

References

1. ^ Mallen-Cooper, M, Zampatti, BP, Stuart, I & Baumgartner, L (2008), INNOVATIVE FISHWAYS – MANIPULATING TURBULENCE IN THE VERTICAL-SLOT DESIGN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND REDUCE COST. [online] Available at: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/research/areas/aquatic-ecosystems/outputs/2008/1115.
2. ^ O'Connor, J, Stuart, I, Jones, M & Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (2017), Guidelines for the design, approval and construction of fishways. [online] Available at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-664261559 [Accessed 25 February 2021].
3. ^ a b Thorncraft, G & Harris, JH (2000), Fish passage and fishways in New South Wales - a status report, Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, Albury, N.S.W..

Last updated: 10 May 2021